Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

LoganSnake · 01-05-2008, 01:43 PM

This is pretty much what High Def media support looks like right now:

Once Newline Cinema goes Blu-Ray exclusive, we will finally be able to enjoy Lord of the Rings in 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed audio (which is impossible to do with HD-DVD due to space limitations).

HD-DVD will be dead by next year.

Shigun · 01-05-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Augi

Just one question: are their internal computer drives that support HD, Blu Ray, DVD, and CD? Because then I don't care which one wins as my PC is my media center. I briefly tried to google it, and nothing was saying, "Buy me."

LG offers a drive that supports reading all of the formats. I haven't read any reviews for it so I don't know how performance is and it's gonna set peeps back a grand. Eep. I don't really foresee anything affordable until after a victor has been decided in the format war, when all companies can start making hardware for the same format and get some competitive pricing going.

http://us.lge.com/products/model/det...GW-H10NI.jhtml

Cheaper to buy individual drives. NewEgg has internal PC drives for Blu-ray, for writing and reading.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827248005

I didn't look for HD-DVD Drives, but I'm sure they exist just the same.

Shigun · 01-07-2008, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

Once Newline Cinema goes Blu-Ray exclusive, we will finally be able to enjoy Lord of the Rings in 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed audio (which is impossible to do with HD-DVD due to space limitations).

HD-DVD will be dead by next year.

Hopefully won't have to wait too long for LotR! Just read today that Warner Brows and New Line both announced they will be backing Blu-Ray exclusively. Took 'em long enough...

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...ryid=1009&cs=1

Quick Snippets from the article:

Quote:

Warner Bros. all but signed the death warrant for HD DVD on Friday, when it dropped its format-neutral approach to back Blu-ray exclusively.

...

Sony, Fox, Disney and Lionsgate all back Blu-ray. Warners sister companies New Line and HBO will also shift their allegiance to Blu-ray only as well.

And the official announcement from Time Warner...
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsr...700383,00.html

Again, some snippets...

Quote:

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

...

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

blahblah454 · 01-07-2008, 08:11 PM

Thats awesome. Why anyone would want to back an obviously inferior technology and product is beyond me. As soon as HD DVD dies this will be good for everyone as now all money will be spend on making blu ray better.

xepherys · 01-10-2008, 12:32 AM

Meh, I've been away too long... To put out some data from the December 2007 issue of Maximum PC:

Quote:

BD+ Equals Bad

One of Blu-Ray's biggest selling points to studios has been BD+, the extra layer of copy protection the optical spec offers over competing HD-DVD. But based on its debut, BD+ is nothing to crow about - unless hurting honest consumers is the desired effect. BD+ is found on the recently released Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Day After Tomorrow, and owners of various Blu-Ray players are reporting problems playing the discs. Some, but not all, of the players are fixed with a firmware update.

Not To Pile On Blu-Ray, But...

Months after Blockbuster cited consumer preference for Blu-Ray over HD-DVD, Netflix is reporting the exact opposite findings. The popular online movie rental website says that of the admittedly miniscule number of consumers who are interested in a high-def format, more choose HD-DVD, by a factor of 2.4 to 1.

Also, Augi, regarding dual-format HD drives (which will by default support standard DVD and CD), the LG Super Multi Blue GGW-H20LI recieved a 9/1 rating from Maximum PC, also in the December 2007 issue. It also runs $500, but hey... blue lasers are expensive, lol. That model replaces the previous GGW-H10NI that Shigun mentions above.

Hain · 01-10-2008, 12:47 AM

Excellent. I have been ogling over some HD media of my own and am just waiting for the prices to drop to start.

jusolson00 · 01-16-2008, 07:17 AM

Man I hate being on the losing side of things...So here's my problem, I recieved a HD-DVD player for christmas ( I asked for it) and I absolutly love it!... the ONLY reason I chose HD over blu-ray was becasue of Transformers. Bar none my favorite movie and a must have. However at the time I chose HD, warner were neutral and so i felt comfortable going that route. Now I am questioning this. I am wondering if I should return the hd player back to best buy and exchange for blu-ray as there is still time? And i would, however I want transformers in HD.. so you think we'll see transformers in blu-ray? should i wait for duel players to come down in price, sell the HD player in 6 months, or continue to live in denial that HD-DVD will prevail?.....

Cynthetiq · 01-16-2008, 07:23 AM

movie co's don't care what the format is really, they care that their franchise is out in some medium for consumption. If HD is dead, at some point in time it will come out in BD

Sty · 01-17-2008, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jusolson00

I am wondering if I should return the hd player back to best buy and exchange for blu-ray as there is still time? And i would, however I want transformers in HD.. so you think we'll see transformers in blu-ray? should i wait for duel players to come down in price, sell the HD player in 6 months, or continue to live in denial that HD-DVD will prevail?.....

Return it while you still can and exchange for nice BR player. Get AnyDVD and make a full rip of your transformers (using your mate's hd-dvd addon for xbox) to your hard-drive.

Or get an equally good 1080p rip from other sources widely available on the internets.

ASU2003 · 01-18-2008, 05:54 PM

Well, I am in the market for a DVD player, and it looks like I have to go with HD-DVD. I currently have 40 regular DVDs and my computer DVD drive will not be hooked up to the new projector. And I need some way to play the old movies in an upconverting way. (A 1080p upconverting DVD player costs $77 right now).

The movies that I want are out on HD-DVD. Sure, some like Blue Planet are out on both, but the Matrix and the Bourne trilogy are on HD-DVD. And I was going to buy the most recent Bourne film, but it comes with the player now. ($24.99) The only other movies that I don't own that I want to buy are the Lord of the Rings. I don't care if I have to buy a Blu-ray ripped version that is burnt onto HD-DVD discs from Asia or Russia though (or d/l from some Swedish website...). The Good Shepard, Flags Of Our Fathers, Battlestar Glactica, Serenity Apollo 13 and Top Gun are all on HD-DVD. So it seems the movies I want to watch are on HD-DVD. I don't watch many 3D animated movies (which do look good at 1080p on Blu-ray that I saw at Best Buy), comic book movies, Harry Potter, or Pirates of the Caribbean. And I'm not sure which movies are available for both formats right now.

And I also like that there are no region codes. And the cryptography/security on the HD-DVD discs isn't as bad as the Blu-ray ones.

You also get 7 free movies with the purchase of one of these players (6 if you don't count the Bourne movie), even though they aren't exactly A-list, it is something. ($50)

And since I can get a 1080p HD-DVD player for $170 (actually only $68 if you subtract what I would have spent on a upconverting DVD player and the Bourne movie, I get to use the full power of my new 1080p projector with 6 additional movies as well, plus what ever I buy.) Comparing it to the PS3 or a stand alone Blu-ray player I wouldn't be able to afford to buy any movies or games. And wouldn't I still need to buy a upconverting DVD player to play my old movies?

Yeah, I'm not sure how long this 'format war' will go on for, and I'm still not sure why movie studios are taking sides at all in this. But I predict that it will go on for a few more years. And while I was on the sidelines watching it unfold, and even if I don't know what the future will hold for HD-DVD, I have to pick them.

Sty · 01-18-2008, 09:20 PM

The films which are now exclusive for Universal & Paramount are going to come to BR also after those studios go neutral (which will be pretty soon).

But $170 is not bad for upconverting dvd player though, and the free movies are free movies and still watchable with it even if they're hd dvd, until your player breaks around 2010 and hd dvd hasn't been in production for years.

Cynthetiq · 01-18-2008, 09:35 PM

don't worry, you'll just wind up buying the movies twice or even thrice. The studios love that, which is why it's available in many many formats from Special Edition to Director's Cuts to 2.1 edition with 8 minutes never before seen footage. Remember they don't make money on the player, just the software that runs on it.

so you'll have a HDDVD and a BD sitting on your media shelves.

xepherys · 01-18-2008, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sty

But $170 is not bad for upconverting dvd player though, and the free movies are free movies and still watchable with it even if they're hd dvd, until your player breaks around 2010 and hd dvd hasn't been in production for years.

Break in 2010? HD-DVD not around for years? See... this is ibe of MANY reasons WHY I went HD-DVD. The people who support BD-DVD tend (not all but most) to sensationalize things like this. First of all, I've never had a DVD player last less then 5 years or so, putting out to 2013 worst case. Also, If HD-DVDs were no longer produced as of today, right now, it would still barely be "years" by 2010 that they had fallen out of production. Oh, and they AREN'T stopping making them, no or anytime soon.

Argh!

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoganSnake

we will finally be able to enjoy Lord of the Rings in 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed audio (which is impossible to do with HD-DVD due to space limitations).

Uhm... really? HD-DVD uses the exact same lossless digital audio codec (Dolby TrueHD) that BD_DVD does.

LINK

Quote:

Dolby TrueHD is a lossless audio technology developed for high-definition disc-based media (HD DVD and Blu-ray). It is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, supporting up to 8 full-range channels of sound at 24 bits / 96 kHz at a bit rate up to 18 Mbps.

Dolby TrueHD can be transmitted in bitstream format via HDMI 1.3 and above. The audio data also may be sent to the A/V receiver in Linear PCM form instead of raw Dolby TrueHD. A third option is that the audio is decoded by the player and output via 6-8 analog outputs. (See note below about audio mixing in HD DVD and Blu-ray players)

Dolby TrueHD is a mandatory audio format on HD DVD players, but only in 2-channel mode. Fortunately, all HD DVD players are capable of decoding multi-channel Dolby TrueHD, so support for that format is the de facto standard for HD DVD players.

Note: In the first and second generation HD DVD players, the Dolby TrueHD signal is converted to DTS Digital Surround at 1.5 Mbps for output over the standard digital audio output.

Dolby TrueHD support is optional on Blu-ray players, however. When a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is included on a Blu-ray disc, a companion Dolby Digital track must also be included for compatibility reasons. You will need to consult the owners manual and release notes for your Blu-ray player to determine its level of support for Dolby TrueHD.

A historical tidbit is that Dolby TrueHD has its origins in the MLP Lossless technology, first used on DVD-Audio.

For more information, visit the Dolby web site: "Dolby TrueHD"

Wait, what was that? Let's make sure we're clear. HD-DVD is REQUIRED to have TrueHD, but will also convert to DTS Digital Surround if you are using standard outputs. Blu-Ray is NOT REQUIRED to have TrueHD at all.

Do you Blu Ray guys even research this stuff?

spongy · 01-20-2008, 12:06 PM

I believe the point about LOTR being released in 7.1, was that before WB went BR exclusive, there was debate about the trilogy being on both formats.

Now, no matter how equal the sound specs are, you won't be able to catch LOTR on HD-DVD, as WB won't be releasing it that way.

Also, please note that when WB went BR exclusive, they still will be shipping HD movies through the end of May, with Twister 20th annivesary mega-hyper-best ever (until next anniversary) edition announced for May 26.

I would like to quote this from thedigitalbits.com about the route WB is taking vs what paramount did. ...

"Paramount simply cancelled many Blu-ray titles that had already been solicited with retailers. Warner is not only still releasing the HD-DVD titles it's announced, but it's releasing more that haven't yet been announced. The bottom line is that HD-DVD enthusiasts have until 5/31 to enjoy titles from Warner on that format, and there are still MAJOR Warner titles on HD-DVD that have yet to be released on Blu-ray."

As far as backing whatever Microsoft backs, it has been put out there that MS is not only backing HD to counter Sony, but because 2 formats muddy the water, which would , in the long run, help MS in their desire to have os d/l content.

Umm, I will post more thoughts info in a bit.... my daughter wants burritos, and the Pats-Bolts game is gonna start soon.

LoganSnake · 01-20-2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xepherys

Uhm... really? HD-DVD uses the exact same lossless digital audio codec (Dolby TrueHD) that BD_DVD does.

Why don't you browse some torrent sites for HD movies? Let's take Serenity for example. The torrent for Serenity in it's uncompressed, 1080p video resolution and 5.1 Dolby Digital audio is 19.6GB.

Now, Serenity is a two hour movie. Return of the King Extended Edition clocks at 4 hours and I believe 20 minutes. That's more than twice the length of Serenity, or 43GB. Add to that Master recording in 7.1 and you got yourself straining for space even on the triple layer HD-DVD. Even if it does fit, there will be some compression.

xepherys · 01-20-2008, 03:48 PM

Well, first, DDPlus is not TrueHD. Though in theory TrueHD should take more space, I'm not certain it does. Let's at least compare apples to apples. Then there's the 7.1 aspect. I'm not saying it isn't nice... but I am saying that most people do not utilize 7.1 at home. *shrug* Also, are we talking about three language tracks on RotK like on this sample Serenity rip? What about extras? How many are there on one disc compared to another?

Extrapolating information about one movie based on the movies comparative length against another movie with a known image size isn't exactly science. It's pretty much just guessing and using that guess to back up your point. I'm not saying you are wrong. Just saying you are drawing conclusions with fallacious data.

ASU2003 · 01-20-2008, 05:08 PM

http://hd-insider.com/2007/01/17/lor...kling-out.aspx

Here I thought some news came out about LotR in HD. But it turns out it was 1 year and 3 days ago. What is taking them so long? And there is also talk about only releasing the theatrical version at first? Haven't they fleeced the hard-core fans enough with having people buy two regular DVD sets?

If people think I am crazy, imagine watching the regular DVD on a 120" 1080p lcd projector, versus the HD version. Here is a good comparison.
http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

Then I thought, wait a second, if I can download Al Gore's movie and Who Killed The Electric Car on-line, why shouldn't I be able to download a HD version of a DVD that I have bought twice, paid to see in the theaters, and am unable to buy on HD DVD (or Blu-ray)? I took a look on that Swedish website and it looks like they have what I want.

The only nitpicky thing is that when you download, or put on a HD-DVD/Blu-ray disk, a film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, you don't need to download the black bars, so it makes the film only 1920x800. This would free up disk space for other things. And I wonder how many people really have 7.1 sound systems? Do the PS3's support 7.1 sound? I just bought a center speaker last month to get to 5.1 sound, and it sounds fine to me. I care more about video quality anyway.

Sensei · 01-20-2008, 09:37 PM

I found it funny there were fully page color ads for a brand new HD DVD Toshiba HD-A3 player in multiple newspapers at $149 the week after the Vegas CES. Gee, I wonder why that was...

spongy · 01-21-2008, 01:45 AM

A couple of more thoughts...

I had a friend who worked for Lowry Digital, and he said that when most movies are transferred, they make copies that have 5000 lines of resolution, somewhat future proofing them. He mentioned the Bond films were done like this.

Also, I seem to remember rumor that Peter Jackson mentioned something about a longer version than the extended versions might be made on the new HD formats. Wouldn't that be fun!!

Sensei · 02-19-2008, 08:51 AM

Now it's official. Warner put the nail in the coffin Januray and that nail was driven in by NFLX, BBY, and WMT last week.

Quote:

Toshiba's stock slipped 0.6 percent Tuesday to 824 yen after jumping 5.7 percent Monday amid reports that a decision was imminent. Goldman Sachs has said pulling out would improve Toshiba's profitability between $370 million-$460 million a year.

I was going to say, the players I commented on two posts back have to be bleeding red ink...

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?lay...ategoryid=1009

Quote:

Blu-ray wins high-def war
Toshiba concedes its HD DVD defeat
By DIANE GARRETT, DIANE GARRETT, MARK SCHILLING
Faced with a spate of high-profile pullouts by major retailers, Toshiba is accelerating its exit from the HD DVD biz, ending the billion-dollar battle between high-def DVD formats that split both Hollywood and consumers.

The Japanese electronics concern is expected to cede defeat to Sony's Blu-ray format today .

Although neither side would disclose figures, the battle has been costly for both: Sony and Toshiba took a loss on the sale of lower-priced players, and Nikko Citigroup analyst Hiroyuki Masuko projected that Toshiba will see a ¥50 billion ($462 million) loss from the HD DVD biz in its fiscal year ending in March. Masuko said Monday that Toshiba's exit from the format could boost its operating profit by 20% in the next fiscal year.

Toshiba had apparently been planning a more gradual, face-saving pullout before last week's moves by Wal-Mart, Netflix and Best Buy forced its hand.

The company, which had the backing of tech giants Microsoft and Intel, refused to give up the high-def fight lightly: When Warners endorsed Blu-ray in early January, Toshiba responded by slashing prices on its players to drive sales. As recently as a few weeks ago, it ran a costly Super Bowl ad promoting its players, hoping, at the very least, to sell off some machines and foster demand for more movies in the format.

But the aggressive moves weren't enough to jumpstart sales significantly. Mass merchants, already coping with returns of HD DVD players, put the final nail in the coffin by throwing their support behind Blu-ray.

Wal-Mart delivered the fatal blow Friday when it announced that it would begin to phase out HD DVD discs and players over the next few months in favor of Blu-ray and standard DVD. The retail giant projected that its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores would be HD DVD free by June -- the same month Warners said it would stop production of discs in that format.

Earlier in the week, Netflix made a similar endorsement, and consumer electronics giant Best Buy said it would favor Blu-ray more than it already does at its stores. Toshiba's exit will draw studio holdouts Universal and Paramount to Blu-ray by necessity. Both had been hanging tough with Toshiba since Warners' Blu-ray endorsement.

HD DVD backers, notably Microsoft, funneled promotional coin to studios in exchange for their support. Paramount and DreamWorks animation reportedly received $150 million when they exclusively backed HD DVD last summer. Both camps dangled major coin before Warners to entice it into an exclusive endorsement, although the studio said that money paled in comparison to the overall amount at stake in the worldwide homevid biz.

Toshiba's exit from the format fight would conclude a six-year battle with Sony, which has been pining for a victory ever since its Betamax lost the videocassette battle with VHS in the early days of homevid.

Studios are eager to jumpstart the high-def biz because standard DVD sales are slowing. Last year, according to Adams Media Research, consumer spent $186 million on Blu-ray discs and $90 million on HD DVD discs. That's a tiny portion of the $15.38 billion spent on discs Stateside last year, according to Video Business. High-def discs sales are lagging behind standard DVD sales at a comparable period in that format's evolution.

Studios are ramping up digital delivery of their pics, but that market is even smaller and more unproven than high-def discs. Some prognosticators believe consumers will ultimately embrace digital delivery, via downloads or video-on-demand, instead of high-def discs.

Microsoft and Toshiba are both expected to concentrate on technology for digital downloads. On Monday, Microsoft, which supported HD DVD through an add-on device to its Xbox 360 player, said it did not believe Toshiba's exit would have "any material impact."

Sony's PlayStation 3, meanwhile, should see a bump in sales from Blu-ray's victory. PS3 consoles already comprise the majority of Blu-ray players in the market.

Sty · 02-19-2008, 09:03 AM

About time, good riddance.

Daemon1313 · 02-19-2008, 02:02 PM

Now the players just need to come down in price and I'll consider getting one.

Sensei · 02-19-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Mango

At the end of the day, format wars can be seen as stupid and a waste of time and resources, but sometimes they do push technology forward and/or reveal interesting, useful data about the market and consumers. I can\'t say that this format war has been particularly healthy for anyone though. One thing they always do is create confusion amongst the general public (generalising the general public as mass consumers who have little specific knowledge about the products) and that\'s not beneficial to anyone.

It's correct that format wars (and labor strikes on loosely similar thread) are huge and likely unnecessary drain on resourses for the companies involved. The consumer isn't totally screwed by a format war though. Competing camps were forced to slash their hardware prices as well as offer gobs of incentives such as five free movies in order to get an edge in the war.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daemon1313

Now the players just need to come down in price and I'll consider getting one.

The $399 PS3 now offers a free remote (valued at $30) and I was tempted to buy it. I decided to hold off for the next drop; then it's as good as in my living room.

Sty · 02-21-2008, 08:25 AM

And now universal jumped the ship. They're really kicking the shit out when you're already down...

01-05-2008, 01:43 PM	#41 (permalink)
LoganSnake We work alone Location: Cake Town	This is pretty much what High Def media support looks like right now: Once Newline Cinema goes Blu-Ray exclusive, we will finally be able to enjoy Lord of the Rings in 1080p with 7.1 uncompressed audio (which is impossible to do with HD-DVD due to space limitations). HD-DVD will be dead by next year. __________________ Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques Last edited by LoganSnake; 01-05-2008 at 01:46 PM..

01-10-2008, 12:47 AM	#46 (permalink)
Hain has a plan Location: middle of Whywouldanyonebethere	Excellent. I have been ogling over some HD media of my own and am just waiting for the prices to drop to start. __________________ ////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

01-16-2008, 07:17 AM	#47 (permalink)
jusolson00 Tilted	Man I hate being on the losing side of things...So here's my problem, I recieved a HD-DVD player for christmas ( I asked for it) and I absolutly love it!... the ONLY reason I chose HD over blu-ray was becasue of Transformers. Bar none my favorite movie and a must have. However at the time I chose HD, warner were neutral and so i felt comfortable going that route. Now I am questioning this. I am wondering if I should return the hd player back to best buy and exchange for blu-ray as there is still time? And i would, however I want transformers in HD.. so you think we'll see transformers in blu-ray? should i wait for duel players to come down in price, sell the HD player in 6 months, or continue to live in denial that HD-DVD will prevail?..... __________________ "Of Course I don't look busy.. I did it right the first time!"

01-16-2008, 07:23 AM	#48 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	movie co's don't care what the format is really, they care that their franchise is out in some medium for consumption. If HD is dead, at some point in time it will come out in BD __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

01-18-2008, 09:20 PM	#51 (permalink)
Sty Patron Administrator Location: Tôkyô, Japan	The films which are now exclusive for Universal & Paramount are going to come to BR also after those studios go neutral (which will be pretty soon). But $170 is not bad for upconverting dvd player though, and the free movies are free movies and still watchable with it even if they're hd dvd, until your player breaks around 2010 and hd dvd hasn't been in production for years. __________________ br, Sty I route, therefore you exist

01-07-2008, 08:11 PM	#44 (permalink)
blahblah454 Let's put a smile on that face Location: On the road...	Thats awesome. Why anyone would want to back an obviously inferior technology and product is beyond me. As soon as HD DVD dies this will be good for everyone as now all money will be spend on making blu ray better.

01-18-2008, 05:54 PM	#50 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	Well, I am in the market for a DVD player, and it looks like I have to go with HD-DVD. I currently have 40 regular DVDs and my computer DVD drive will not be hooked up to the new projector. And I need some way to play the old movies in an upconverting way. (A 1080p upconverting DVD player costs $77 right now). The movies that I want are out on HD-DVD. Sure, some like Blue Planet are out on both, but the Matrix and the Bourne trilogy are on HD-DVD. And I was going to buy the most recent Bourne film, but it comes with the player now. ($24.99) The only other movies that I don't own that I want to buy are the Lord of the Rings. I don't care if I have to buy a Blu-ray ripped version that is burnt onto HD-DVD discs from Asia or Russia though (or d/l from some Swedish website...). The Good Shepard, Flags Of Our Fathers, Battlestar Glactica, Serenity Apollo 13 and Top Gun are all on HD-DVD. So it seems the movies I want to watch are on HD-DVD. I don't watch many 3D animated movies (which do look good at 1080p on Blu-ray that I saw at Best Buy), comic book movies, Harry Potter, or Pirates of the Caribbean. And I'm not sure which movies are available for both formats right now. And I also like that there are no region codes. And the cryptography/security on the HD-DVD discs isn't as bad as the Blu-ray ones. You also get 7 free movies with the purchase of one of these players (6 if you don't count the Bourne movie), even though they aren't exactly A-list, it is something. ($50) And since I can get a 1080p HD-DVD player for $170 (actually only $68 if you subtract what I would have spent on a upconverting DVD player and the Bourne movie, I get to use the full power of my new 1080p projector with 6 additional movies as well, plus what ever I buy.) Comparing it to the PS3 or a stand alone Blu-ray player I wouldn't be able to afford to buy any movies or games. And wouldn't I still need to buy a upconverting DVD player to play my old movies? Yeah, I'm not sure how long this 'format war' will go on for, and I'm still not sure why movie studios are taking sides at all in this. But I predict that it will go on for a few more years. And while I was on the sidelines watching it unfold, and even if I don't know what the future will hold for HD-DVD, I have to pick them.

01-18-2008, 09:35 PM	#52 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	don't worry, you'll just wind up buying the movies twice or even thrice. The studios love that, which is why it's available in many many formats from Special Edition to Director's Cuts to 2.1 edition with 8 minutes never before seen footage. Remember they don't make money on the player, just the software that runs on it. so you'll have a HDDVD and a BD sitting on your media shelves. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

01-20-2008, 12:06 PM	#54 (permalink)
spongy Psycho	I believe the point about LOTR being released in 7.1, was that before WB went BR exclusive, there was debate about the trilogy being on both formats. Now, no matter how equal the sound specs are, you won't be able to catch LOTR on HD-DVD, as WB won't be releasing it that way. Also, please note that when WB went BR exclusive, they still will be shipping HD movies through the end of May, with Twister 20th annivesary mega-hyper-best ever (until next anniversary) edition announced for May 26. I would like to quote this from thedigitalbits.com about the route WB is taking vs what paramount did. ... "Paramount simply cancelled many Blu-ray titles that had already been solicited with retailers. Warner is not only still releasing the HD-DVD titles it's announced, but it's releasing more that haven't yet been announced. The bottom line is that HD-DVD enthusiasts have until 5/31 to enjoy titles from Warner on that format, and there are still MAJOR Warner titles on HD-DVD that have yet to be released on Blu-ray." As far as backing whatever Microsoft backs, it has been put out there that MS is not only backing HD to counter Sony, but because 2 formats muddy the water, which would , in the long run, help MS in their desire to have os d/l content. Umm, I will post more thoughts info in a bit.... my daughter wants burritos, and the Pats-Bolts game is gonna start soon. __________________ The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. Stephen King

01-20-2008, 03:48 PM	#56 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	Well, first, DDPlus is not TrueHD. Though in theory TrueHD should take more space, I'm not certain it does. Let's at least compare apples to apples. Then there's the 7.1 aspect. I'm not saying it isn't nice... but I am saying that most people do not utilize 7.1 at home. shrug Also, are we talking about three language tracks on RotK like on this sample Serenity rip? What about extras? How many are there on one disc compared to another? Extrapolating information about one movie based on the movies comparative length against another movie with a known image size isn't exactly science. It's pretty much just guessing and using that guess to back up your point. I'm not saying you are wrong. Just saying you are drawing conclusions with fallacious data. __________________ The prospect of achieving a peace agreement with the extremist group of MILF is almost impossible... -- Emmanuel Pinol, Governor of Cotobato My Homepage

01-20-2008, 05:08 PM	#57 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	http://hd-insider.com/2007/01/17/lor...kling-out.aspx Here I thought some news came out about LotR in HD. But it turns out it was 1 year and 3 days ago. What is taking them so long? And there is also talk about only releasing the theatrical version at first? Haven't they fleeced the hard-core fans enough with having people buy two regular DVD sets? If people think I am crazy, imagine watching the regular DVD on a 120" 1080p lcd projector, versus the HD version. Here is a good comparison. http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html Then I thought, wait a second, if I can download Al Gore's movie and Who Killed The Electric Car on-line, why shouldn't I be able to download a HD version of a DVD that I have bought twice, paid to see in the theaters, and am unable to buy on HD DVD (or Blu-ray)? I took a look on that Swedish website and it looks like they have what I want. The only nitpicky thing is that when you download, or put on a HD-DVD/Blu-ray disk, a film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, you don't need to download the black bars, so it makes the film only 1920x800. This would free up disk space for other things. And I wonder how many people really have 7.1 sound systems? Do the PS3's support 7.1 sound? I just bought a center speaker last month to get to 5.1 sound, and it sounds fine to me. I care more about video quality anyway.

01-20-2008, 09:37 PM	#58 (permalink)
Sensei Black Belt in Slacking Off Location: Portland Or-ah-gun	I found it funny there were fully page color ads for a brand new HD DVD Toshiba HD-A3 player in multiple newspapers at $149 the week after the Vegas CES. Gee, I wonder why that was... __________________ Slacking off with style since 1981. Last edited by Sensei; 01-22-2008 at 03:30 PM..

01-21-2008, 01:45 AM	#59 (permalink)
spongy Psycho	A couple of more thoughts... I had a friend who worked for Lowry Digital, and he said that when most movies are transferred, they make copies that have 5000 lines of resolution, somewhat future proofing them. He mentioned the Bond films were done like this. Also, I seem to remember rumor that Peter Jackson mentioned something about a longer version than the extended versions might be made on the new HD formats. Wouldn't that be fun!! __________________ The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. Stephen King

02-19-2008, 09:03 AM	#61 (permalink)
Sty Patron Administrator Location: Tôkyô, Japan	About time, good riddance. __________________ br, Sty I route, therefore you exist

02-19-2008, 02:02 PM	#62 (permalink)
Daemon1313 Crazy Location: Atlanta	Now the players just need to come down in price and I'll consider getting one. __________________ A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

02-21-2008, 08:25 AM	#64 (permalink)
Sty Patron Administrator Location: Tôkyô, Japan	And now universal jumped the ship. They're really kicking the shit out when you're already down... __________________ br, Sty I route, therefore you exist